Ten Vietnamese companies are ranked among the top 200 Asia-Pacific corporations in Forbes Asia's "Best Under a Billion" list for 2011, the magazine said Wednesday.

"Vietnam makes the biggest jump with 10 companies, nine more than last year," Forbes said in a statement. The companies include PetroVietnam Low Pressure Gas Distribution and DHG Pharmaceuticals.

Vietnam made its debut in the list last year with its leading dairy company, Vinamilk. The firm, however, did not make the list this year.

The "Best Under a Billion" list ranks public companies in the Asia Pacific region with annual revenues of between US$5 million and $1 billion.

"Essentially these are our picks of the companies (from an initial field this year of over 15,000) that have best managed through the economic volatility that began in 2008," Forbes Asia wrote in its September issue.

"Most navigated the global credit crunch with little to no debt on their balance sheets. On average the companies on our list have a 13 percent debt-to-equity ratio. In fact, 67 of these companies carry no debt at all."

Chinese and Hong Kong companies steal the limelight this year, with 65 companies from these markets ranked in the list. India also makes a strong showing on the list with 35, the second highest number of companies that made the cut, Forbes said.